This Phillies-Mets trade for Luke Weaver would be a win for two NL East rivals

When you lose New York Mets fans, as owner Steve Cohen is quickly learning, it is very difficult to win them back.

Injuries, errors and a lack of focus and leadership have doomed the Mets from the jump. Juan Soto could only do so much as a team with World Series aspirations all but officially found itself out of the playoff race by June 1. Even with the three-team Wild Card system, it was always difficult to see New York surging and sneaking into the postseason, and with less than three weeks to go until the trade deadline, they look like sure-fire sellers.

Despite a payroll exceeding $300 million, the 40-57 Mets could realistically have the sport’s worst record by August 1. Outside of Soto and reliever Luke Weaver, the Mets’ many veterans have failed to provide any semblance of stability amid one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.

Weaver, who turns 33 in August, might be on the move within the coming weeks. Could the rival Phillies swoop in and give Mets fans another reason to despise Cohen?

What the Phillies would have to give up to pry Luke Weaver from the Mets

The Phillies also got off to a bumpy start, but unlike their rivals in Queens, a managerial change coincided with a massive change in fortunes, as Don Mattingly has his squad now breathing down the Braves' necks in the NL East and firmly in control of a Wild Card spot. Their postseason position seemingly secure, it now falls on Dave Dombrowski to give this aging core one more shot at getting over the hump — and if there's one thing we know about Dombrowski, he'll never shy away from a big deadline move.

The Phillies could use a righty outfielder, but those aren't exactly easy to come by. The other main area of improvement would be the bullpen, which doesn't have a very wide circle of trust for Mattingly to fall back on. Dombrowski has already confirmed he wants to acquire not just one but multiple relief arms between now and Aug. 3, and it just so happens that one of the very best potentially available plays for the Mets.

While his teammates have melted down around him, Weaver has been consistently excellent after ditching the Yankees for their crosstown rivals this past winter, pitching to a 1.85 ERA while covering multiple innings if needed. Philly would no doubt love to add that sort of late-game weapon, but the righty also comes with another year of team control in 2027, meaning that it's no sure thing a Mets team which hopes to contend next season would let him go — especially within the division.

It would take at minimum a top-100 prospect to start, a box Philly checks by including Escobar as the centerpiece of this deal; his star has waned a bit of late, but there's still something like a Gleyber Torres-type outcome on the table here. Add in two relief prospects who could backfill Weaver's production as soon as next season in Pan and McFarlane, and you can understand why New York would at least consider the proposition.

Would the New York Mets realistically trade Luke Weaver to the Philadelphia Phillies?

On the one hand, the thought of a Mets-Phillies trade is admittedly bizarre to consider. We rarely see these two make any deals together, much less one that could immensely help the other during a playoff push. 

If the Mets even considered sending Weaver to Philadelphia, I cannot emphasize how much of a public relations hit that’d be for Cohen and David Stearns. Not even the rationale that Weaver could help the Phillies knock off the Dodgers or take down the Braves would sway the majority of Mets fans, who have a reputation for being, shall we say, passionate when showing their disapproval.

But from a purely baseball point of view, what do the Mets have to lose? Weaver has a career-best 1.85 ERA, and he’s allowed only two home runs in 39 innings. Although assuming is dangerous, we feel comfortable suggesting that there will be at least one contender willing to consider giving up a top prospect.

At this stage, it’s the Dodgers vs. everyone else. Every National League team should take a win-now approach when considering adding players like Weaver. The possibility of shutting down Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers’ lineup in the late innings vastly outweighs the risk of watching your No. 26 prospect grow into a perennial All-Star for the Mets.

Weaver is under contract through next year, and he was brilliant during the Yankees’ 2024 postseason run. He had a 1.76 ERA and four saves over 151. innings, repeatedly showing that he could handle the October pressure.

The Mets, as the kids say, are cooked either way. And as much as I hate saying this as a native New Yorker, the potential benefits of trading Weaver to Philadelphia should win out if the opportunity arises. The Phillies must pounce and at least see whether Cohen and Stearns would approve such a trade. 

I need a cold shower after defending the thought of the Mets trading arguably their best pitcher to the Phillies. Ugh. 

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